It’s always a spectacle when the annual Christmas tree arrives at the US Capitol, but this year it also means something beyond an ornamental tradition. Over the last several years, there has been a subtle, underground effort to eradicate this and other Christian holiday observances in Washington. The pressure to secularize America’s capital city comes from within and without. Anti-religious constituent groups regularly badger their members of Congress. This year add to that the American Humanist Association, that this week launched the “National Godless Holiday” advertising campaign in Washington.

Nancy Pelosi and Rob Schenck

You may recall that last year I had a very interesting face-to-face with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi at the actual Christmas Tree dedication ceremony. I thanked her then for keeping “CHRIST-mas at the Capitol.”  This year there was yet another little skirmish over the tree. The word went out to the sponsoring state, Arizona, that ornaments and other decorations were not to be religious in nature. After our friends at the Alliance Defense Fund and others raised a hue and cry, the restriction was lifted.

Against the background of all that’s going on, should the tree be in good order, I’ll be sure to thank the Speaker again this year. We’re often too quick to criticize and too slow to commend.

It’s ironic that for a long time we Christians were ourselves conflicted over the appropriateness of Christmas trees, but I think we’ve worked that through. The overwhelming number of Christians generally accept trees as a simple symbol of the season marking the birth of the Savior. Now that symbol has the added dimension of marking the season when the tectonic forces of secularist atheism and biblical theism collide.

Not to worry, though, all this has happened throughout the last two thousand years–and in far more dramatic and dangerous ways than stripping trees of bulbs and putting up No God posters. No matter what is done with these material trappings, it’s the people of God that remain as the best and most enduring sign of God’s reality, and we’re not going anywhere! More importantly, we are a sign of His enduring love for all humanity–and we must remember to behave accordingly.

Let the “CHRIST-mas” season begin!

Rob+

Every Thanksgiving the Schenck family assembles in our native home of Western New York State to celebrate the epitome of American holidays. I say epitome because Thanksgiving captures what is at the heart of our American culture: gratitude to God for everything we enjoy.

The first generation of European refugees that came to Plymouth in what would become the commonwealth of Massachusetts—that’s right, I said refugees— faced daunting challenges to their survival . . .

Hmm, before before I go on any further though, I probably should explain my use of that term, “refugees.”

The settlers at Plymouth, where that “first Thanksgiving” would take place in 1621, were searching for freedom from fear and intimidation linked to the particular practice of their Christian faith, thus, the moniker of “Pilgrim.” Actually known as “Puritans,” they advocated for a very simple expression of Christian religion. Banned and often brutalized in England, the Puritans searched for a place they could freely and comfortably practice their spirituality. After a false start in the Netherlands, they set sail for North America, landing at Plymouth Rock.

While several other events in the Americas could legitimately lay claim to the title of “First Thanksgiving,” the feast at Plymouth is certainly one of the earliest and most prominent. The whole story is a fascinating one, including, of course, the attending guests of honor, Squanto of the Pawtuxet Nation and members of the Wampanoag. It was because of the help of these native peoples that the European Plymouth inhabitants had survived the nearly intolerable winter.

During the feast the Plymouth Pilgrims and their guests gave thanks to God for the land they tilled, the harvest they had gathered and the aid of the native population that had taught them New World farming techniques. Over time, the relationship between the First Peoples and the Refugees would deteriorate, but for this early celebration, they rejoiced together.

This Thanksgiving, my family and I, like those early Plymouth refugees, have others to thank for helping us to survive. The many friends of Faith and Action—financial supporters, prayer partners, volunteers and other boosters–have been God’s lifeline to us. Our list is too long to invite you to the family feast, but please know we’ll be naming you in our prayers of thanksgiving!

May you and all yours have a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Rob +

OK, I’ll admit it, I like making history and God blessed me to be a part of two historic events in just this past week! The first came on Tuesday while I attended the twice-annual meeting of the board of directors for the Evangelical Church Alliance (ECA) in Bradley, Illinois, near Chicago, one of America’s oldest associations of Evangelical clergy. That Sunday, I had preached at the nearby River Valley Christian Fellowship with senior pastor, and my friend, Derrick Miller. Monday afternoon I visited the famed Moody Bible Institute in downtown Chicago to make a series of our 1 Timothy 2 Daily Prayer videos. Monday night I had a dinner with the 11 other board members and staff of the ECA. Through it all there was a lot of talk about the pending Health Care Reform legislation in Congress. It was obvious most were distressed over possible provisions for government subsidized abortion.

On Tuesday, the day of the meeting, I woke up to an early phone call and subsequent E-mail from colleagues in Washington greatly alarmed by efforts in the Senate to strip the House bill of the Stupak/Pitts amendment strictly forbidding government money from funding abortions. We had already launched a massive petition campaign demanding Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid stick to President Obama’s promise to the country that “no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions.” I take that literally–meaning not directly or indirectly. Using federal dollars to facilitate the use of other moneys to pay for abortion would be a slight-of-hand and a disingenuous attempt to hoodwink the American people.

The situation was so critical I prayerfully decided to present our ECA board with an unprecedented proposal to pass a resolution urging the Senate–and the House–to do nothing to compromise the Sanctity of Human Life. The resolution would speak for our fellowship of thousands of clergy, many of them pastors of congregations, some quite large, heads of religious institutions, and military and other institutional chaplains. In its 122-year history the ECA has never entertained such an action. Before heading to the meeting I drafted a document, then suggested it to our board chairman, Dr. George Miller. He and ECA president Dr. Samuel Goebel gave their enthusiastic approval and the resolution was presented about mid-way through the day. I honestly didn’t know how the board would view it, knowing in the past anything that even smacked of politics would have likely been rejected. After the motion to pass received a second, there was plenty of comment and modification of the draft, which to me strengthened it further. When the vote was called it was unanimous–Hallelujah! (You can read the Resolution Against Abortion Funding at our website under Headlines.) The board took separate action directing me to hand-deliver the document to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Mr. Reid’s is already in his hands and I will deliver Speaker Pelosi’s this afternoon.

Score one for history!

The second claim on history was yesterday’s spectacular and first ever Live Nativity Scene at the US Supreme Court. My assistant and our Faith and Action chief of program, Peggy Nienaber, worked very hard putting together the event that was more than a year in the making. As you may know, for the last several years we have helped launch two national Christmas outreach efforts called The Nativity Project and Operation Nativity. The first is aimed at encouraging Americans to make use of local laws allowing private citizens to erect Christmas displays on public property such as town parks, squares, courthouses, city halls, etc. All it usually requires is an application and a permit. Many churches, home groups, organizations, Sunday school classes, youth groups, and so forth, have made this an annual project. The second program, Operation Nativity, encourages private citizens to erect displays on their own private property–their lawns, in front of their shops and businesses, in display windows, even their roof tops–to remind their communities of the true meaning of the Christmas season.

In the past we have set up temporary manger scenes in front of the High Court to remind the Judicial Branch of government that it is the guardian of our very right to do so. As we said at yesterday’s event, our Nativity Scenes at the Supreme Court are for several purposes: First and foremost, to remind ourselves and our fellow citizens about the true meaning of the Christmas season–the celebration of the birth of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s also to affirm a great American tradition. Christmas is woven into the very fabric of American history and our modern way of life. But we were also there to exercise our God-given and constitutionally protected First Amendment Right to freedom of speech, assembly and free exercise of religion. In a statement we warned that if we fail to regularly and boldly express these rights, we will inevitably lose them!

The “living” part of the Nativity scene was born last year when Pastor Scott Lieb of the large Manassas Assembly of God church in Manassas, Virginia, suggested during our press conference that we use live actors instead of our usual plastic figurines of the Nativity characters. We loved the idea and he pledged the very professional help of his church’s performance arts department. They provided two volunteer actors to play Mary and Joseph, as well as spectacular costumes for all the players. Several additional volunteers came from other churches and the retinue of shepherds, animals and Wise Men was complete. We processed across the street from our ministry center to the front of the Supreme Court, commanding quite a bit of attention along the route. Once in front of the grand steps and plaza on the Court’s West Face, we settled in as if in Bethlehem itself. You’ve got to see the gallery of photos and watch the videos at our site! It was a magnificent depiction of the Gospel narrative–and it was the first time anyone knows of that it was done in front of the Supreme Court and across the street from the US Capitol! we capped it off with a reading of the Nativity from the Gospel of Luke, prayers and even Christmas carols!

Score two for history!

This coming week we will, of course, celebrate yet another holiday focused on God the Creator–Thanksgiving. I’ll write more about that, but for now, let me just say we have so much to be thankful for, particularly you, for making all this possible. God bless!

“The rich rules over the poor,
And the borrower is servant to the lender.” – Proverbs 22:7

President Obama’s trip to Asia this week, particularly to the People’s Republic of China, was proof that God’s Word holds true for nations as much as individuals. Many on both the right and the left had hoped for big results from this first engagement of the new era president and the new era China, but alas, it was not to be.

Whether on trade or human rights, not much came of the encounter. USA Today opined, “Obama goes to China, brings home a T-shirt.” Even the President’s attempt at challenging China’s audacious censorship of the Internet was–well–censored!

Why so little change in our relationship to China from the President that promised so much change on a global scale? Because China practically owns America now, and the beggar has little clout with his benefactor.

Just as the President likes to do his town hall meetings–as he did in Shanghai this week–I like to do mine. In the last few churches that I’ve preached in, I’ve held town hall style meetings on Sunday evenings. During these very stimulating give-and-takes, I inevitably get questions about the growing threat of Muslim militants and terrorists. My response, though, is that while Islamic extremism is extremely dangerous, there is a much larger and greater danger lurking right under our noses. In fact, it looms up at us from the very aisles of, well . . . Walmart!

That’s right–your favorite place to shop. Just turn over those products you buy and the majority of the time you’ll see the label: “Made in China.” But China doesn’t just own your ironing board and Christmas tree lights; more seriously, it now likely owns your bank or even your mortgage,

So, President Obama, in both the frustratingly meager outcome of his much heralded call on the Sino-Power, and his perhaps unintended but none-the-less muted tet-a-tet with Premiere Wen Jiabao, learned what preachers have been preaching for a long time: Borrowing from others is a Faustian pact with the Devil. And when it’s a devil as big as the PRC, Walmart shelves become as frightening as a suicide bomber on a scooter!

Rob +

Thank you to each and every one who responded to Thursday’s emergency appeal for help in paying our dedicated mission team members! Your generosity brought us within a few dollars of our goal! So, our team members will be paid–Hallelujah! I posted a video today on the front page of our website expressing our almost inexpressible gratitude. I wanted to tell you “face-to-face” how we all feel about you. Hope you can take a look. From all of us to you, from the deepest part of our hearts and souls: Thank You!

Blessings to you and yours,

Rob +

I never use this blog to ask for emergency help, but I really need to today. I was just told we’re unable to pay our dedicated staff at Faith & Action because donations are down so seriously. I don’t want to lose these good people–there are just five of them–and they are so dedicated. They aren’t paid even close to competitive wages for Washington, DC, and they depend on us for the money to pay their rent, mortgages, health care for their families and to put food on their tables.

We have a plan and we have assurances of funds coming in next month, but the crisis is now. Our people are paid every two weeks, so this is the loss of half a month’s income. They will need to look for other employment immediately if we can’t take care of them. In recent days, some of our friends have given as much as $1000, $500 and $250, but all I need now is something like $16 from each of my blog readers, and we can give these good people what they need and deserve.

Please help today with a fully tax-deductible gift of $16. Use the “Donate Here” button at our website

Thank you from the bottom of my heart and soul!

Rob +

That’s right, this is my tribute to an American hero by the name of, well . . . my own name, Robert L. Schenck. I was named for the uncle I never knew, my father’s older brother. In the family he was remembered fondly–even reverently–as “Uncle Bobby.” He died on November 14, 1952 when his C-119C aircraft flew into the side of Hill 683 near the village of Cho, Korea. This was CPT Schenck’s second tour of duty. He had earlier won numerous medals, including the Distinguished Flying Cross, for an astounding number of successful bombing missions at the controls of a B-17 over Europe. After leaving the Air Force, he started a small import-export business, but decided he hadn’t given enough to his country and re-upped for Korea. He was only in the country a short time when fog and high winds brought down the C-119C.

Not long ago, while attending another uncle’s funeral in Connecticut, I visited the family gravesite. It was stunning to approach a large, snow-ladened headstone that read, “CAPT ROBERT L SCHENCK.” It was like the Ghost of Christmas Future–or, I should say, Hanukkah Future, since he was Jewish. In any case, standing there with my cousin Lexye, it was as if I were finally meeting face-to-face the man for whom I am namesake. I was suddenly and nearly overwhelmed with gratitude to my father for allowing me to carry in my very identity the memory of this great Jewish-American hero who was the son of a Russian immigrant.

Only weeks before my father died of cancer, he gave me all of Uncle Bobby’s papers, including official internal reports on the accident that killed his brother. Though my uncle did not die in battle, he did die in uniform, and he knew that could be the outcome no matter what sort of mission he was on. His harrowing bombing sorties over Nazi occupied lands in the European theater had taught my uncle that flying through hostile airspace was always a life-threatening exercise. Still, he climbed aboard that C-119C. For him, what America gave to our Schenck family was worth everything he could give back to it.

I often think of Uncle Bobby when I read the words of Christ, “Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” For Uncle Bobby, every American was his friend, and freedom was his friend, so, he showed his love and devotion to them in the greatest possible way. Thanks Uncle Bobby–and thanks to the 43 airmen that went down with you. They should not remain nameless, so I will name them here:

CWO Alfred H. Auger
PFC Robert J. Beachy
SGT Francis C. Berger
PFC Gilberto A. Berrios
CPL Antonio Calaustro
CPL William E. Clark
PFC C. Concepcion-Esquilio
CPL Patrick E. Connolly
PFC Delbert Coulam
CPL Donald D. Drinnen
SFC Albert W. Dzinwkowski
CPL James A. Flory
PFC Lloyd O. Fogt
CPL Frank Gfroerer
CPL Thomas E. Giglio
CPL John W. Hanlon
MSG Arthur J. Holland
SGT Robert W. Irwin
PFC Robert H. Koehler
PFC Leon Letts Jr
PFC Bronson J. Mastne
SGT Richard L. Menninger
PFC Erling P. Miller
PFC Billy G. Mouney
SGT Donald R. Northrup
PFC Byron H. Pittman
PFC Lovell E. Prater
PVT Juan Rivera-Gonzales
PFC Juan Rivera-Vazquez
PFC Raul Rosalez
SGT Arthur J. Scowcraft
PFC Eugene R. Serra
SGT Ray A. Shepherd
PFC Freelan Shrewsbury
SGT John C. Stauch, Sr.
SGT Harry N. Tsuruoka
CPL John H. Williams
A1C Leroy J. Beer (USAF)
A2C Marvin L. Gainey (USAF)
SSG Ray W. Mansholt (USAF)
2LT John C. Mortensen (USAF)
CPT William C. Moskosky, Sr. (USAF)
SSG Thaddeus L. Smith Jr (USAF)

Greater love cannot be shown here on earth. This Veterans Day, we remember each of you and all your fallen comrades-in-arms. May you rest in peace.

Rob +

As you know, I travel a good part of each year. Most of it is for what we call “Pulpit Ministry,” that is, guest preaching in churches around the country. One of the greatest joys I have as a minister of the Gospel is preaching God’s Word, and it’s through preaching that I communicate the motivation and passion behind our ministry. What we do here in the nation’s capital as missionaries to government officials is inseparably linked to what happens in the local church. It’s within congregations we discover Christians who share with us a deep concern for the moral and spiritual well-being of our American civilization. It’s also where we find people who will pray for us, which is the most important thing they can do to help us achieve our goals. Of course, it’s in the church that we also meet and develop long-term friendships with pastors and lay members. Many of these friends end up generously supporting our efforts, so they become our literal life-line from Heaven! So, most of the time that I’m not in Washington, I’m in the church, but that’s not all I do on the road–there’s more.

When I’m “out and about”, I like to visit individuals and couples who invest in our work in extraordinary ways. It may be with their time, talent or treasure. Just as it is with pastors and congregations, I get a lot of valuable information, advice and support from these folks. Many of these people own or run businesses, they serve on boards of national and international organizations and they have access to valuable resources. Talking and praying with our major supporters is also a source of wisdom needed to do what God has called us to do. This kind of wisdom is, as Scripture reminds us, “more valuable than silver and gold.” (See Proverbs 16:16) I also plain enjoy people. I’m always interested in their lives, their families, their work and the way they see what’s happening in the world. It enriches my life and helps me gain perspective on what we’re doing.

Finally, when I’m outside the beltway, in “real America,” I learn what really concerns people, about our government, about our culture and about our world. This helps me regain focus and to stay “on mission.” I have no desire to live isolated from average Americans. “Official Washington” can be a place as strange as Alice’s Wonderland. I’m a pretty practical Christian and I like to have at least one foot planted firmly on the ground–in the real world. Spending too much time in the “rare air” of Washington leaves you me with altitude sickness!

These days, I have more time outside Washington than ever. You may have heard that for the next 36 months, Cheryl and I are living part of each year in Seattle, Washington, where she’s finishing a graduate program in Christian counseling. It’s been a long-delayed dream for her. Cheryl has always done a lot of personal ministry work–and helped a lot of needy kids through her professional practice as an occupational therapist–but nothing has been as fulfilling for her than ministering to women victims of abuse. As I write this we’re together at our “western home,” a humble studio apartment on Seattle’s waterfront, just a few blocks from her school. Being here always gives me a new perspective which clarifies even more what our work in Washington is all about.

Oh, and I shouldn’t leave off without saying that when I’m on the road, I’m never bored! Filling in the open calendar spaces is all that “other stuff” I do: Making our daily prayer videos (I like giving you a different backdrop from time to time, like the current one, the Wasatch Mountain Range of Utah!), fulfilling my “extra-curricular duties,” like chairing two recent interview committees for candidates for ordination to the Christian ministry (I’ll do one tomorrow at my alma mater, Faith Evangelical Seminary in nearby Tacoma), conducting endless conference calls with our ministry team, sitting on boards of various organizations (as I’ll do next week near Chicago) and, of course, writing this blog and many other pieces for our website and publications. (This year we’ll communicate in the mail with more than 3 million people!)

Now you have an idea of how I spend my time–and it’s not on the golf course! Thanks for making it all possible through your prayers, your friendship and your financial support. I’m eternally grateful!

Rob +

Yesterday’s tragic shooting at Fort Hood in Texas has touched off another wave of fear and hatred of Muslims. Blogs are filling up with posts denouncing the Islamic religion. However, just as with recent shootings by so-called “Christians”, there is no reason to immediately associate this crime with a particular faith. More than likely, we will learn the shooter was mentally deranged. Still, it is human nature to fear what is unfamiliar. There needs to be widespread, unequivocal and thorough repudiations of this act by Muslim religious authorities around the world, accompanied by clear statements of Islamic teaching that utterly rejects murderous acts like this one.

Americans may not know much about Islam, but they are learning it has no central authority, therefore, what just one or two Islamic leaders say does not necessarily speak for all Muslim groups. There needs to be a veritable concert of Islamic voices from around the world who unambiguously and thunderously reject this senseless violence and that demonstrates authoritatively how such crimes violate the teaching of Islam itself. Until those voices are heard speaking in unison, there will continue to be understandable suspicion and fear of Muslim people.

Rob +

Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan of Arlington, VA, a Muslim, allegedly killed 13 soldiers and wounded many others.

At Faith & Action Ministry Center: Pastor Gary Ansdell (left foreground), visits Rob Schenck with a delegation from Ambassadors for Peace, a group that works for international religious liberty, especially in Muslim countries.